Translation of abstract (English)

Germany has been an immigration country for more than 30 years now, although many politicians claim the opposite and many people in Germany are inclined to agree with their assessment. However, it is the actual experience with immigration, and not what people would like to experience, which qualifies a country as an immigration country. On this grounds it seems safe to argue that any assessment of Germany as 'no immigration country' is far from reality. This thesis provides ample evidence for this hypothesis and contributes to the received literature in economic migration research for the case of Germany. It analyzes the determinants of welfare dependence among immigrants from different generations living in Germany and the perception of these migrants by native Germans. Furthermore, it provides empirical evidence for the determinants of observable migration flows to Germany and a set of forecasts for future migration to be expected from the Central and Eastern European accession countries to the EU. Finally, it provides a conceptual framework for the evaluation of the effects of specific immigrations policies.